"I have formally joined the BJP, I will contest elections [Lok Sabha 2019] and will also win," Sadhvi Pragya said.

HIGHLIGHTS

Sadhvi Pragya formally joined the BJP today and said she will contest Lok Sabha polls

She said she is also confident of winning Lok Sabha elections 2019

There are speculations that the BJP may field her against Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal

Sadhvi Pragya Thakur on Wednesday (April 17) formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Sadhvi Pragya made the announcement herself and said that she will also contest 2019 Lok Sabha election.

"I have formally joined the BJP, I will contest elections and will also win," Sadhvi Pragya said. Her induction in the BJP has fuelled speculations that the party may field Sadhvi Pragya against Congress's Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal.

Pragya Singh Thakur, who came to limelight after her arrest for Malegaon blasts in 2008, is a strong option for the BJP against Digvijaya Singh. The special NIA court is yet to discharge Sadhvi Pragya in the case.

The Bhopal seat has almost 25 per cent Muslims among 18 lakh voters. The BJP has been projecting Digvijaya Singh as an anti-Hindu leader. Sadhvi Pragya has earlier said she would be glad to challenge an anti-Hindu leader like Digvijaya Singh.

Sadhvi Pragya had been associated with Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and 'Durga Vahini' or women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). She is known for rabble-rousing speeches.

Though the court dropped provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against her, she is being tried under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). She was granted bail by the Bombay High Court last year.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

Congress hasn't won Bhopal since 1989. The Bhopal constituency is a BJP citadel as the party has not lost the seat since 1989.

BJP's sitting MP Alok Sanjar had won the seat in 2014 with a margin of 3.7 lakh votes. But after Congress named Digvijaya Singh, the BJP went into a pause mode.

The Congress had won three out of eight assembly segments of Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency. In the remaining five seats, the BJP witnessed a slide in its margin.